ABSTRACT
This chapter is a preliminary examination, intended for expansion into such an investigation, of two facets of the journey of instrumental music through the printed medium from composer to performer: the routes to publication, and the role of the publishers in defining repertoire. Examination of title-pages of eighteenth-century publications reveals three basic routes to publication: publication by subscription; private printing; and publication by a third party. Publication of such monumental works by subscription usually appears to have been a matter of collaboration between composer and publisher, or even the responsibility of the publisher alone. The British Library's card catalogue of music within their holdings which was published by subscription, though not comprehensive, provides a substantial list of music published in this way during the eighteenth century. The pattern of European publications often mirrors that of London activity.
